| Handicaps:
The USGA Handicap System allows the 4.5 million golfers with
handicaps to play all sorts of courses and still compete head-to-head.
It is also a good way to track your progress in a uniform manner.
Such a system will necessarily be complex to cover all contingencies,
and the USGA puts a tremendous amount of work into it. But all
Lambda Links members have to do is enter their scores. |
| Since
we meet the USGA guidelines for a golf club, we are authorized
to give official USGA Handicaps. (A club doesn’t need to
have a golf course to give handicaps.) You need at least 5 scores
entered to have a handicap (officially called Handicap Index
or HI), but your best calculation will be when you have at least
20 scores entered. Each player is responsible for following
the USGA rules and guidelines. This Web page is a brief summary
of the USGA Handicap System. If interested you can look up the
manual at www.usga.org. |
| To
post a score send the following information to the Handicap
Coordinator: |
| |
Your
name |
| |
Date
of play |
| |
Your
score |
| |
Course
name (and location if out of the DC Metro area) |
| |
Tees
played |
| |
Tee
Rating/Slope |
|
Handicap
Glossary
|
| Adjusted
Gross Score: |
| The
score a player enters for his or her handicap. Enter gross score
plus these adjustments if necessary: |
|
|
If
a hole is conceded or not finished enter the score you would
most likely have made. |
|
|
If
a hole is not played or not played according to the Rules, enter
a score of par plus strokes allowed under course handicap for
that hole. |
|
|
Enter
no hole score greater than that allowed under ESC
for your course handicap |
| If
you play by the rules and use the ESC for
your maximum score per hole, then your score needs no adjustment.
Additionally, “winter rules”/“preferred lies”
do not nullify your hole score, but mulligans do—in that
case use adjustment 2 above. “Gimmies” come under
adjustment 1. |
| Course
Handicap (CH) |
| Is
the number of strokes you are entitled to for a particular course,
based on your handicap index (HI) and the course slope. Usually
within a couple of your HI. Subtracting your CH from you score
will give you your net score (see formula below). |
| Course
Rating |
| USGA
measurement of a course: a calculation of the expected score
of a scratch player when playing well. |
| Equitable
Stroke Control (ESC) |
| The
maximum score on a hole allowed for the purpose of calculating
your HI. There is always a maximum. (See chart
below.) |
| Handicap
Differential (HD) |
| Each
score entered is converted to a HD, and then the HDs are converted
to your Handicap Index. (See formula below.)
|
| Handicap
Index (HI) |
| What
is meant by “your handicap.” This is independent of
where you are playing. (See formula below.)
|
| Slope |
| USGA
measurement of a course: how much harder the course is for bogey
player than scratch player; 113 is the slope of average difficulty.
A higher slope indicates a more difficult course and therefore
more strokes are given to higher handicappers. |
| Frequently
Asked Questions (FAQs) |
1.
How come I so rarely play to my handicap?
Your HI is the USGA’s mathematical calculation of your
current scoring potential, NOT an average of your scores. When
your game is “on” your score should be close to your
course handicap. Your HI is the average of your best HDs, reduced
by 4% to encourage improvement.
2. I got a HI after 5 scores, but even though I am not playing
worse, how come my HI keeps creeping up as I enter more scores?
While you can have an HI after 5 scores entered, it is skewed
towards the low end. As you enter more scores, your HI will
tend to rise, until you have 20 scores entered, which will be
the best measure of your HI. After that, your HI will be based
on your last 20 scores entered. But of course, great scores
will push down your HI.
3. I played terrible today; I know my worst scores are “thrown
out,” so do I have to post this score?
Yes—you are required to post all your eligible scores.
The formula will determine your worst scores, and make the adjustments.
Otherwise, your HI will be too low.
4. Which is worse, a 94 at East Potomac, or a 101 at Little
Bennett?
As far as your HI is concerned, they are the same! Both scores
convert to a 27.0 HD. This is the beauty of the USGA formula,
it adjusts for course difficulty.
5. Sometimes I only play 9 holes, do those scores count towards
my HI?
Yes, if you play 9 holes next time, without an intervening 18-hole
round. Then you add the nine-hole scores together for one score.
Otherwise, they don’t count.
6. I am a woman, and I like to play from the White tees—what
adjustments are made?
First check if there are a CR and slope for women for the whites.
If not, then the CR and slope for the reds will need to be adjusted
upward. Find the difference in yards from white to red tees,
and look up how much the red tee CR and slope will be adjusted
upward in the USGA Handicap Manual, Sec 5-2 (f); it is both
online under usga.org , and Lambda Links has a copy
7. The scorecard does not have a CR or Slope, is the score still
acceptable?
First ask if the course has been rated; new courses sometimes
don’t have the ratings in time to put on the cards. But
if a course is not been rated, then the score is not useable
for your HI.
8. I have more than 20 scores entered. Usually when I enter
a pretty good score my HI either declines or stays the same,
but sometimes it jumps up, why is that?
Once 20 scores are entered, every new score entered pushes out
the oldest score—sometimes the oldest score was a great
round that was weighing your HI down, and pushing it out causes
your HI to increase. In general though, the effect of good scores
outweighs the effect of poor ones, so your HI does not rise
upward often.
9. Why is there a maximum handicap index (HI): 36.4 for men,
40.4 for women?
The HI is in effect a predictor of your score, based on your
previous scores. Low handicappers have a tighter distribution
of scores, while high handicappers have a wider distribution--that
is, their scores tend to be more erratic. The USGA has determined
that for HIs higher than these maximums the scoring is too erratic
to be predictable. Please note: your course handicap can be
higher than these maximums, if the course slope is over 113.
Don’t confuse the handicap index with the course handicap.
10. Can I play Winter Rules, and if I do, can I report that
score for my handicap?
Lambda Links does that make this decision, rather it is up to
the course management. The course you are playing should have
established whether preferred lies (winter rules) are acceptable
and, if so, if the scores should be posted for your handicap.
If the local course hasn’t made a statement about preferred
lies then you shouldn’t play them.
The
USGA summarized this point on their Web site (in the following,
local clubs or committees refers to golf course management,
or those clubs that operate a golf course, which Lambda Links
does not):
“The use of preferred lies or winter rules is not endorsed
nor interpreted under the Rules of Golf. But a local rule
denoting the existence of such a practice is included in the
Rules of Golf for the benefit of local Committees faced with
adverse course conditions. Scores made under preferred lies
or winter rules will be posted for handicap purposes unless
a club’s Handicap Committee determines that conditions
are so poor that such scores should not be posted.” [Emphasis
Added]
|
| USGA
Formulas |
| Course
Handicap (CH) |
At
each course you play, you can convert your HI into a CH, which
will be the number of strokes you can subtract from your score
to get your net or handicap score. Your CH will usually be within
a couple of your HI. Sometimes the course will have a chart
to convert your HI to a CH, otherwise use the calculation HI
x slope / 113, rounded to the nearest integer.
For example: You are a woman who’s HI is 25.2 and are playing
at Marlton GC, which has a slope of 120 from the reds. Your
CH for Marlton is 25.2 x 120 / 113 = 26.8, which is rounded
to 27. If you shoot a 98, your net score is 98 - 27 = 71. This
also means your maximum score on any hole is 8 (see ESC below).
|
| Handicap
Differential (HD) |
| Each
score that you report for a handicap is converted to a HD, like
a “mini handicap” for that round. These HD numbers
are used by the Handicap Coordinator to compute your HI. You
do not need to make this calculation, just report your scores
as requested above and the Handicap Coordinator will perform
this step toward calculating your HI. The HD is calculated as
HD= (Score - CR) x 113/Slope. The result is rounded to nearest
tenth. |
| Handicap
Index (HI) |
| If
at least 20 scores are reported then your HI = (Average of 10
lowest HDs) x 0.96, truncated to the first decimal point. If
less than 20 scores are entered then an average is taken based
on a USGA defined table (see USGA Handicap Manual section 10-2).
Like the HD, the HI performs this calculation. |
| Equitable
Stroke Control (ESC) |
| The
ESC sets a maximum score per hole, and is based on your CH.
Here are the limits: |
|
Course
Handicap (CH)
|
Maximum
Score per Hole
|
|
09
|
Double
bogey
|
|
10-19
|
7
|
|
20-29
|
8
|
|
30-39
|
9
|
|
40
or more
|
10
|
|
